Thursday, 17 August 2017

It's all about the puck (or is it?)

Hi, guys! How is your week so far? Did you notice that I managed to post on Thursday this time? :p

So I confess: I have a problem when it comes to
Sarina Bowen. Namely, I keep buying her books and then…not read them, LOL. I
fell in love with her writing when I first read The Shameless Hour. Come to think of it, I never finished that series, hmm... I
bought the True North series because most of my friends raved about them (I'm hopeless with peer pressure; I cave so very easily), and I
also bought the Brooklyn Bruisers series because I love sports romance.

Long story short, after I reread
Kate Meader’s Irresistible You (my review here, ICYMI!), I was in a mood for
more hockey, so I started Rookie Move. I ended up finishing all three books in
one night, had one hour of sleep before I had to start my day, and completely
crashed by 3 pm.

Rookie Move is such a sweet
second chance romance. It lacks the angst I normally require with this kind of
stories, but it works because the main characters Georgia and Leo are so
lovable.

This story is about Georgia and Leo who broke up and went their
separate ways after high school. They reunited six years later when Leo got
traded into the Brooklyn Bruisers, where Georgia incidentally worked as a
publicist. Leo and Georgia are so young,
only 24, which I think is the reason why this book has a more youthful feel to
it than the other second chance romances I read. I adore the glimpses to how
they were in high school. They were once one of the couples you can’t help but
love, hate, and envy at the same time because they were so disgustingly cute.
They had a solid relationship, and I felt so sad when I learned why they broke up.

When Leo and Georgia
got back together, it was like they were never broken up. The transition was
seamless despite their six-year split; Leo and Georgia had this easy
camaraderie between them, and their chemistry was strong. My favourite part of
the book is when Leo stopped Georgia from leaving because he wanted to say
goodbye to her ‘tatas’. I burst out laughing at all the tata mentions in the
book. I also adore how Leo called her Gigi.

Aside from Georgia’s annoying
father and his issues with Leo (why can’t you behave more like an adult, old man?),
this is a pretty flawless read for me. Also love Georgia’s friendship with
Becca and the hints thrown about Becca and Nate (I can’t believe book 4 isn’t
out yet).

“Fuck that. You
and I don’t have one-night stands. We have forever night stands.” [Leo to Gigi]

I wasn’t quite sold on Patrick
O’Doul at first because he was a bit of a jerk in Rookie Move, but Hard Hitter
ended up being my most favourite book in this series. Patrick was a bit
mysterious to me; aside from his rough and prickly façade, we didn’t really get
anything about him in the first book. I think the reason why this book appealed
so much to me is because Patrick is described as a jaded old dude with a
boatload of issues.

Oh, why can’t I fall in love with less complicated men?

I love Ari, the Brooklyn
Bruiser’s yoga instructor slash massage therapist, just fine but the star of
the show for me is truly Patrick, so this is a Patrick O’Doul Appreciation
Paragraph. As the story progressed, we learned more about Patrick’s backstory
which explained his gruff attitude and his dislike about being touched by
strangers. I was legit surprised that he turned out to be the sweetest guy.

Patrick was so caring and protective of Ari. I just about melted every time he called
Ari sweetheart and texted her just to see how she was doing, and I especially
loved the part where he asked the help of his team members for ideas on how to
woo a woman. I love Patrick and Ari’s easy relationship, although Ari annoyed
me at times when she kept pushing Patrick away. On an unrelated note, the Nate x Becca build-up is even
more pronounced in this book. Why is book 3 not their story?

“I’m so gone for
you. I’ve got it bad. It might take me years to convince you I’m a good guy,
but I’ll never stop trying.” [Patrick to Ari]

Mike Beacon didn’t really stand
out to me so I was a bit surprised to find that he was the star in this book,
and I was even more surprised to find out that his love interest was Lauren
Williams, Nate’s assistant. Lauren rubbed me the wrong way when we met her in
Hard Hitter because she was rude and snappish towards people for no reason.

Mike and Lauren were together for
a year and a half after Mike split with his wife. Their relationship ended
badly and abruptly when Mike suddenly decided to return to his wife. I was a
bit pissed at Mike for this, even after learning the real reason why he ditched
Lauren so callously and got back together with his wife. Lauren deserved
better, and I’m glad that she didn’t give Mike an easy time when he approached
her again.

Despite his faults in the past, Mike grew on me; he was easy to
like. He was a devoted father to his annoying brat of a daughter, he was kind
and caring, and he genuinely loved Lauren. I’m glad that Mike’s daughter is not
the main obstacle to their relationship, because that drama would have been
tiring. Instead, their relationship progressed quite naturally after Mike and
Lauren made up and reconciled.

Overall it was a great second chance romance story, a little angsty, and no unnecessary drama. The epilogue made me tear up and laugh out loud. Oh, how I love a good happily ever after!

“Thank you for
making me happy.” [Mike to Lauren]

For somebody who's allergic to any kind of sports, I sure do love my sports romances. Some of my favourites: